Many professionals are required to earn continuing education credits within a time period defined by state accrediting agencies associated with each respective industry. Failure to meet these continuing education requirements can result in suspension of an individual's professional license.
Accrediting agencies typically authorize selected public or private organizations to serve as providers or program sponsors in designated geographic areas. It is the responsibility of each provider to submit proposed programs to the accrediting agency for approval. Accrediting agencies examine the content of these programs and usually approve or disapprove them within thirty days from the date of submission.
Once the programs have been approved, the providers are free to publicize the availability of a seminar to any and all industry professionals in the state. Program seminars are currently being presented to fee paying course registrants who attend traditional, typically live, classroom events. At the conclusion of each seminar, a provider representative or monitor signs documentation which verifies registrant attendance at the continuing education event. The provider then notifies the state accrediting agency that the registrant has earned continuing education credits. The provider and the accrediting agency track the industry professionals' continuing education seminar activity until the appropriate number of credits have been earned.
While industry providers have been offering continuing education seminars in this traditional manner to state professionals for many years, increasingly, providers are seeking new solutions to a myriad of challenges, including rising operating costs, over-sized resources from faculty to physical plant, and growing competition for the student pool. At the same time, technological advances in electronic delivery have made learning in the home and workplace more versatile and cost-effective than ever. The dynamic nature of the technology industry, coupled with provider needs for increased business efficiencies has created a situation requiring new partnerships which can dramatically transform the way learning is effected. Changing social, economic and demographic trends associated with end-user course registrants make issues of convenient course accessibility, viewing flexibility, and affordability critical to future provider plans to implement alternative methods of delivering continuing education seminars.
Through the audit and verification system which will be described, professionals are able to view approved programs provided through a videotape library service while simultaneously responding to personalized information encrypted on the accompanying audit verification tool. Registering and participating in electronically delivered continuing education seminars frees the professional to conduct business during normal, daytime hours when clients and associates need to access their services.